Alaska Historic Sites

• El Dorado Gold Mine

1975 Discovery Drive Fairbanks, AK 99709 (907) 479-6673

<www.eldoradogoldmine.com>: Tour original gold fields and climb aboard a replica 1899 locomotive. You’ll learn how prospectors mined the metal and get a chance to strike it rich by panning for gold.

• Juneau-Douglas City Museum

155 s. Seward St. Juneau, AK 99801 (907) 586-3572

<www.juneau.org/parksrec/museum>: Six thousand artifacts celebrate the story of Alaska’s capital.

Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park

Second Street and Broadway Skagway, AK 99840 (907) 983-2921

<www.nps.gov/klgo>: Travel back to 1897 when you visit the site of Alaska’s first major gold rush. Tour 15 restored buildings in the Skagway Historic District and explore nearby nature trails.

• Pioneer Park

Airport Way and Pegar Road Fairbanks, AK 99707 (907)459-1095 <www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/parks&rec/pioneerpark>: This park re-creates a native village, gold rush town and mining flume. Visit museums and peek inside the Denali Observation Car — President Warren G. Harding’s quarters during his 1923 rail voyage marking the completion of the Alaska Railroad.

• Sitka National Historic Park

103 Monastery St. Sitka, AK 99835 (907) 747-0110

<www.nps.gov/sitk>: The Tlingit and the Russians fought the Battle of Sitka here in 1804. See where the Tlingit fort stood, visit the 1843 Russian Bishop’s House and walk a trail to the Russian midshipmen’s memorial.

• Valdez Museum and Historical Archive

217 Egan Drive Valdez, AK 99686 (907) 835-2764

<www.valdezmuseum.org>: Valdez, located on Prince William Sound, was home to the Chugach Eskimo, then explorers, then gold seekers. Artifacts, photos and documents bear witness to this long history through exhibits on gold rushes, Alaska’s first highway, the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and more.

• Wickersham State Historic Site

213 Seventh St. Juneau, AK 99801 (907) 586-9001

<www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/units/wickrshm.htm>: James Wickersham, a district court judge from 1900 to 1907, brought law to the Last Frontier. Later, as a Congressional delegate, he championed Alaska statehood and National Park status for Mount McKinley. His 1898 home features his library, photos and period furnishings.

TIMELINE

Visitor Information

• Alaska Travel Industry Association

2600 Cordova St. Suite 201 Anchorage, AK 99503 (800) 327-9372 <www.travelalaska.com>

From the August 2006 issue of Family Tree Magazine.